Constructor: Alex Vratsanos
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging??? (no idea, honestly)
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THEME: Double "Z"s (!?) — looks like there are four answers that contain double-Z words, and then this weird thing in the middle where two single "Z"s are left unchecked (i.e. without crosses), each of which appears to be nestled in one of the crooks of a large black-square "Z" formation, although I'm not certain it's actually a "Z" (more below). This is basically a high word-count themeless with some "ZZ" answers and some "Z"-ish architectural stuff in the middle :
The 'ZZ's:
Neither fish nor fowl. Betwixt and between. A hybrid something-or-other. Felt like a cheap sneak-themeless. It's honestly just a couple of stacked 15s where those 15s contain "ZZ's, but honestly if you have a massive wordlist, your software can find such answers really easily and you can just test them out, and stacking just two 15s is not hard, and none of the "ZZ"-containing words are particularly interesting (JAZZ? PIZZA?). So you've got an oddly "ZZ"-restricted themeless puzzle, pretty much, with a high word count (unlike regular Fri/Sat themelesses, which have to be 72 answers or fewer), so we have to endure a Lot of not-great short fill. Then there's this business in the center, which is, frankly, a confused mess. You have two "Z"s again, but this time the "Z"s are alone—really alone—they're unchecked (i.e. uncrossed). I guess the idea is that the overall "Z" theme is supposed to act as a check, but in reality, LAPAZ and ZONES are really easy answers to get, so the uncheckedness is just weird; it's not really a significant puzzle element. And then there's the black-square "Z," which looks more like a "2" than a "Z," and maybe (??) this is the point, or part of the overall visual strategy, since there are"2""Z"s in each of the longer answers. Maybe (???) the fact that a "2" and a "Z" look alike is part of the... joke? But I don't exactly get how all this "Z"-ish business in the center relates to the (mere) four "ZZ" words in the (basically themeless) grid. And if the black-square image is a "Z," don't you then have three "Z"s in the middle of the grid (the two unchecked letters plus the black-square image)??? And how is that relevant? The only thing three "Z"s signifies is sleep. I'm sure the NYTXW's house blog has "constructor notes" to explain (i.e. attempt to rationalize) all this, but honestly, if it needs explanation, the "theme" isn't working. The longer answers on their own are all fine, sometimes interesting, but this is a rather weak (and mildly confusing) attempt to thematize an essentially themeless puzzle.
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging??? (no idea, honestly)
The 'ZZ's:
- GRIZZLED VETERAN (14A: Old pro)
- BARRELHOUSE JAZZ (17A: Raucous music style similar to boogie-woogie)
- OZZIE AND HARRIET (53A: The titular Nelsons of a classic sitcom)
- NEAPOLITAN PIZZA (60A: Dish with tomatoes and mozzarella)
Definition of barrelhouse: a cheap drinking and usually dancing establishment
12: a strident, uninhibited, and forcefully rhythmic style of jazz or blues (merriam-webster.com)
• • •
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| OZZIE AND HARRIET |
I think the long Downs are actually the most interesting thing going on in the grid today. I've never heard of ORANGELOS (just TANGELOS) (2D: Hybrid citrus fruits), and I've definitely never seen MNEMONIZE (does it rhyme with "demonize" or "lemon eyes"?) (33D: Make easier to recite, as the Great Lakes via HOMES), but they are colorful and interesting answers that were not terribly hard to infer from crosses, and their partners (BIRCH BARK and SEA BREEZE) are no slouches either. TRIPLE IPA and DEJECTION also give the puzzle some non-thematic life. So, insofar as the grid shape allowed those answers to come into being, it was not all bad. But TERAOHM is just some overstuffed wordlist abomination, and most of the rest of the fill is short and unremarkable.
The answer I struggled most with was BARRELHOUSE JAZZ, as I've never heard of it. I know the beer-barrel polka, but that is about as far as my barrel-related music knowledge goes. I had ALT-American at first (no idea why), so for a time I was trying to make sense of BARRET- something for that answer. The RAMONES add a nice additional musical element to the grid (37A: Seminal punk band, with "the"), but if you were going to add rock bands to your grid, you'd think (you'd really think) you might have done something with ZZ TOP. Now all I can think of is the thematic possibilities involved in ZZ TOP ... what kind of theme could that be a revealer for. We'll never know ... or, we will know, someday, please accept my ZZ TOP challenge, thank you.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. for those who aren't familiar, HOMES (in 33D: Make easier to recite, as the Great Lakes via HOMES) stands for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior, and is probably the most famous mnemonic (in this country, anyway), though ROY G. BIV and "every good boy does fine" are worthy rivals.
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